Beam splitter for 3D camera, and 3D image acquisition apparatus employing the beam splitter

Abstract

A beam splitter and a 3D image acquisition apparatus including the beam splitter are provided. The beam splitter includes a light incident surface on which light having a first wavelength and light having a second wavelength are incident; a beam splitting surface which is inclined to the light incident surface and reflects the light having the first wavelength and transmits the light having the second wavelength; a first light exit surface through which the light having the first wavelength reflected from the beam splitting surface exits; a first reflective surface which reflects the light having the second wavelength transmitted by the beam splitting surface; a second reflective surface which reflects the light having the second wavelength reflected from the first reflective surface; and a second light exit surface through which the light having the second wavelength reflected from the second reflective surface exits.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0107012, filed on Oct. 29, 2010, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]The present disclosure relates to a beam splitter for a 3D camera, and a 3D image acquisition apparatus such as a 3D camera, wherein the beam splitter is capable of separating a color image and a depth image, which are incident via a same incident surface, to proceed along different paths, and wherein the 3D image acquisition apparatus is capable of simultaneously capturing a color image and a depth image by using one lens and the beam splitter.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Due to the development and increase in use of 3D display apparatuses, the development of 3D content has become important. Thus, research has been conducted into providing a 3D...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, according to the aforementioned methods, the accuracy of the distance information deteriorates as the distance between the 3D camera and the object becomes great.

Also, it is difficult to obtain accurate distance information using the aforementioned methods because they are dependent upon a status of the surfaces of the object in question.

However, in such a case, a mismatch may occur between the color image and the depth image due to a mismatch between an optical axis of an optical system used to obtain the color image, and an optical axis of an optical system used to obtain the depth image.

However, in a case in which a reflection-type modulator is used, a huge amount of light loss may occur in a beam splitter, and this light loss may decrease a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) so that the light loss may deteriorate the accuracy of the depth information.

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